An Examination of Common Errors in Essays Written By Secondary School Students in Malawi: Some Implications for Teaching
Keywords:
Corder’s Error Analysis, English as a Second Language (ESL), Inter-lingual Interference, Intra-lingual Interference
Abstract
This study aimed at analysing errors in essays written by Malawian students who were learning English as a Second Language (ESL). Its specific focus was three-fold: to analyse errors using Corder’s (1974) five-stage approach to Error Analysis, to assess sources of the errors and to identify measures that could be applied to help students attain proficiency in English. The study utilised qualitative and quantitative designs. The participants in this study were students and teachers. The former were required to write essays which were analysed using Corder’s (1974) five-stage approach to Error Analysis while the latter were interviewed to establish sources of errors and ways to overcome them. The study has revealed that the following were the most frequent errors: tense, spelling, subject-verb agreement, articles, nouns, capitalisation and fragment. The study has further revealed that inter- lingual and intra-lingual interferences were the main sources of errors. The study has further demonstrated that other factors such as a lapse in reading culture, carelessness and social media’s writing style influence students’ errors. This study has shown that Error Analysis is helpful to teachers because it enables them to identify specific and common problems. Teachers can, therefore, focus more attention on the identified problems. The findings have pedagogical implications for ESL teachers because they would employ appropriate pedagogy to minimise students’ errors in the area of grammar and sentence structures. The findings also have practical implications in the sense that some platforms could be organised in order to grill teachers on how to improve their content and pedagogical skills in ESL writing. Teachers could also use these platforms to share their experiences with fellow teachers and map the way forward to improve their instruction skills.References
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20. Ho, W.K. (1973). ‘An Investigation of Errors in English Composition of Some Pre-university Students in Singapore with Suggestions for the Teaching of Written English.’ RELC Journal,4(1), 48-65.
21. James, C. (1998). Errors in Language Learning and Use: Exploring Error Analysis. London: Longman.
22. Lennon, P. (1991). ‘Error: Some Problems of Definition, Identification, and Distinction.’ Applied Linguistics, 12(2), 180-196.
23. Mahmoud, A. (2011). ‘The Role of Interlingual and Intralingual Transfer in Learner-centered EFL Vocabulary Instruction.’ AWEJ, 2(3), 28-49.
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26. Sadiah, S., and Royani, S.A. (2019). ‘An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Students’ Writing Descriptive Text.’ Professional Journal of English Education, 2(6), 764-770.
27. Sermsook, K., Liamnimit, J., and Pochakorn, R. (2017). ‘An Analysis of Errors in Written English Sentences: A Case Study of Thai EFL Students.’ English Language Teaching, 10(3), 101-110.
28. Taher, A. (2011). Error Analysis: A Study of Swedish Junior High School Students’ Texts and Grammar Knowledge. Master’s Thesis, Uppsala University, Sweden. Retrieved from www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:496190/FULLTEXT01.pdf.
29. Zawahreh, F.A.S. (2012). ‘Applied Error Analysis of Written Production of English Essays of Tenth Grade Students in Ajloun Schools.’ Jordan Interna tional Journal of Learning and Development, 2(2), 280-299.
2. Al-Buainain, H. (2009). ‘Students’ Writing Errors in EFL: A Case Study.’ Journal of Faculty of Education, 19(1), 311-351.
3. Alfiyani, L.M. (2013). An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Writing Among the Second Semester Students of English Department of Yogyakarta State University.Master’s Thesis, Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia.
4. Brown, D.B. (1994). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching (3rd ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
5. Brown, H. (2007). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. New York: Pearson Education Inc.
6. Centre for Language Studies. (2006). Language Mapping Survey for Northern Malawi. Zomba: University of Malawi.
7. Centre for Language Studies. (2009). Language Mapping Survey forthe Southern and Central Regions of Malawi: Languages and their Dialects. Zomba: University of Malawi.
8. Connor, U. (1996). Contrastive Rhetoric. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
9. Corder, S.P. (1973). Introducing Applied Linguistics. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin.
10. Corder, S.P. (1974). ‘Error Analysis,’ in Allen, J., and Corder, S. (Eds.), The Edinburgh Course in Applied Linguistics Vol. 3, pp. 122-154, London: Oxford University Press.
11. Corder, S.P. (1981). Error Analysis and Interlanguage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
12. Darus, S. (2009). ‘Error Analysis of the Written English Essays of Secondary School Students in Malaysia: A Case Study.’ European Journal of Social Sciences, 8(3) 483-495.
13. Dulay, H.C., Burt, M.K., and Krashen, S.D. (1982). Language two. New York: Oxford University Press.
14. Ellis, R. (1994). The Study of Second Language Acquisition.Oxford: Oxford University Press.
15. Ellis, R., and Barkhuizen, G. (2005). Analysing Learner Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
16. Erdogan, V. (2005). ‘Contribution of Error Analysis to Foreign Language Teaching’. Mersin University Journal of the Faculty of Education, 2, 261-270.
17. Gass, S.M., and Selinker, L. (2008). Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course (3rd ed). New York: Routledge.
18. Hamzah, H. (2012). ‘An Analysis of the Written Grammatical Errors Produced by Freshment Students in English Writing.’ Lingua Didaktika: Jurnal Bahasa dan Pembelajaran Bahasa, 6(1), 17-25.
19. Hinkel, E. (2005). Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Mahwah, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates.
20. Ho, W.K. (1973). ‘An Investigation of Errors in English Composition of Some Pre-university Students in Singapore with Suggestions for the Teaching of Written English.’ RELC Journal,4(1), 48-65.
21. James, C. (1998). Errors in Language Learning and Use: Exploring Error Analysis. London: Longman.
22. Lennon, P. (1991). ‘Error: Some Problems of Definition, Identification, and Distinction.’ Applied Linguistics, 12(2), 180-196.
23. Mahmoud, A. (2011). ‘The Role of Interlingual and Intralingual Transfer in Learner-centered EFL Vocabulary Instruction.’ AWEJ, 2(3), 28-49.
24. McMillan, J.H., and Schumacher, S. (2006). Research in Education: Evidence-based Inquiry (6th ed.). Boston, MA Allyn.
25. Noor, F.N.M. (1985). A Study of Verb Tense Problems Found in the Writings of Malay Speakers. Master’s Thesis, Iowa State University, Iowa.
26. Sadiah, S., and Royani, S.A. (2019). ‘An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Students’ Writing Descriptive Text.’ Professional Journal of English Education, 2(6), 764-770.
27. Sermsook, K., Liamnimit, J., and Pochakorn, R. (2017). ‘An Analysis of Errors in Written English Sentences: A Case Study of Thai EFL Students.’ English Language Teaching, 10(3), 101-110.
28. Taher, A. (2011). Error Analysis: A Study of Swedish Junior High School Students’ Texts and Grammar Knowledge. Master’s Thesis, Uppsala University, Sweden. Retrieved from www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:496190/FULLTEXT01.pdf.
29. Zawahreh, F.A.S. (2012). ‘Applied Error Analysis of Written Production of English Essays of Tenth Grade Students in Ajloun Schools.’ Jordan Interna tional Journal of Learning and Development, 2(2), 280-299.
Published
2022-08-14
How to Cite
Kavute, C. and Hara, A. (2022) “An Examination of Common Errors in Essays Written By Secondary School Students in Malawi: Some Implications for Teaching”, Journal of Law and Social Sciences, 5(1), pp. 52-68. doi: https://doi.org/10.53974/unza.jlss.5.1.792.
Section
Articles